To the Conservative Cabinet Members of Westminster City Council,
I write to offer my congratulations on joining the Cabinet.
In March 2023, the Labour administration voted to increase Special Responsibility Allowances for Cabinet members. The Conservative group’s response was, to put it mildly, spirited. Your Group:
- Voted against the increases in Full Council
- Launched a public petition demanding Labour members reject or donate the rise to charity
- Published a dedicated campaign page under the hashtag #DonateYour45, calling the decision “an appalling misjudgement and act of greed”
- Had your former MP Nickie Aiken raise it as a question in the House of Commons
- Referenced the SRA increase in all your campaign literature, even as recently as May of this year
All of this, it is worth pausing to note, for Cabinet allowances that still remain among the lowest in London.
At the time, you pledged that any Conservative councillor benefitting from the new rates would donate the excess to local charities. It was a principled stand.
So I write to ask two simple questions:
- Can you explain why no proposal has been put forward to reverse the increase in Special Responsibility Allowances contained within the report due to be considered by Full Council next week?
- Given your previously stated opposition to these increases, do you personally intend to accept the revised Special Responsibility Allowance, and if so, how do you reconcile that decision with your earlier position?
Residents who signed your petition in good faith deserve to know whether your principles came with an expiry date.
I look forward to your response in advance of next week’s meeting.
Yours sincerely,
Cllr Ellie Ormsby, Leader of the Westminster Labour Group